Playing it Forward

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May 24, 2016 12:28 PM

SecondServe.com has launched a revolutionary new website where tennis lovers can both BUY and DONATE gently-used tennis clothing and equipment online, with proceeds from sales benefiting tennis-related charitable organizations right here in Colorado.

Second Serve Foundation is an affiliated organization of the Colorado Youth Tennis Foundation, which works to provide tennis opportunities for kids in need. Proceeds from online sales will benefit the important work of the Foundation.

SecondServe.com helps to solve two very real problems: 1) There is an unmet demand for a website specializing in gently-used and discounted tennis gear, and 2) Tennis players need an easy, environmentally conscious way to de-clutter and get rid of unwanted tennis gear that they can feel good about.

The “online upscale resale” trend is incredibly hot for items such as designer clothing, shoes and bags, with over $100 million in venture capital invested last year. But SecondServe.com is the first website to take this trend to the sports and recreation market. More specifically, to the 17 million tennis players in the US.

Until now, the only option for tennis players to find high-end, used tennis gear (also new factory overstocks and previous year styles) online was to painstakingly comb through the pages of eBay. Now SecondServe.com provides customers with a better solution; a convenient, user-friendly website to buy carefully vetted, upscale, like-new tennis gear still in great condition, all in one place. Plus, tennis enthusiasts love knowing that proceeds from their purchases benefit tennis-related charities.

Additionally, SecondServe.com solves the common problem that tennis players currently face of having very few options for donating their unwanted, but often expensive, tennis gear, other than at the local thrift store, where the value is typically not known or appreciated.

“Maybe a woman paid $90 for a tennis skirt, but now it’s the wrong size, wrong style, or they’re just tired of it...but they resist the idea of dropping it off at Goodwill. Right now, short of giving it to a friend or dumping it in the trash, the local thrift store is the only option,” said Sarah Smith, co-founder of SecondServe.com. “We have learned that tennis players are exponentially more likely to responsibly recycle their expensive tennis items, if they know that their donation will directly benefit a tennis-related charity that resonates with them.”

Founded by Sarah Smith and Kathy Jacobson (4.0 players out of Highland Meadows Tennis Center), Second Serve was born out of a frustration with the lack of options available to responsibly recycle tennis apparel and equipment. That frustration, coupled with the current lack of options to purchase quality secondhand tennis items, pushed Sarah and Kathy to turn their idea into a reality.

Second Serve Foundation is a mission-driven organization seeking to reduce the environmental impact of millions of pounds of wasted tennis gear, by helping customers to responsibly recycle unwanted items. Those items then become a sustainable revenue stream, allowing the organization to make substantial and meaningful donations to tennis-related charitable organizations in the US.

Second Serve strives to make a positive change not only to the environment...but also to the consumer behavior of thousands of Americans. By furthering the resale trend, the company is helping consumers see that it is convenient, smart and socially acceptable to donate and buy used items online, so that they don’t end up in the landfill.